Working With Families of Children With Special Needs ─ Family and Professional Partnerships and Roles

An engaging discussion of the legal, ethical, practical, and cultural considerations of working with families of special needs children.

With a strong focus on the families of special needs children, this first edition text provides students with both the information to understand the challenges and needs of these families as well as the skills and strategies required of educators working with such families. Containing a thorough discussion of the common legal and ethical concerns surrounding children with special needs and their families, this book also emphasizes the many individual differences among families. With that in mind, the authors focus on diversity in families with special needs children, cultural considerations, age, and communication with special needs families. In addition, a distinctive final chapter called “A Family’s Voice,” gives students the special opportunity to hear about the unique thoughts and experiences of a large selection of family members of children with special needs.

Nancy M. Sileo, Ed.D. is a professor of early childhood special education at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and has worked in the field of ECSE for more than 18 years. Her current interests include early intervention, family involvement in special education, HIV/AIDS prevention education, and ethical issues in HIV/AIDS prevention education and special education teacher education. Dr. Sileo has been involved with teacher education for special education for 12 years and currently serves as Director of Teacher Education in the College of Education at UNLV. In addition, she has been a member of CEC for over 17 years and is actively involved in TED and DEC. Dr. Sileo is author and co-author of a number of publications related to HIV/AIDS prevention education and research, as well as numerous publications in the field of special education teacher education.

Mary Anne Prater, Ph.D. is a professor and chair of the Department of Counseling Psychology and Special Education at Brigham Young University and has been a teacher educator for over 20 years. Prior to being employed at BYU, she was a professor at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. Her interests and expertise include special education teacher education, cultural and linguistic diversity issues in special education, instructional strategies for students with mild disabilities and the portrayal of disabilities in children’s literature. Dr. Prater has published five books and over 80 articles and chapters. She has been an active member of CEC and various divisions of CEC for over 25 years.